Again but Different
by Novelist004
Summary: A song-fic for Waiting for Superman by Daughtry. Calypso has waited again and again for one of her heroes to save her and no one ever comes. But Leo is different.


**I've been reminded that I cannot use song lyrics for my fanfictions because it is inside public domain. So, instead, listen to the song, or think about the song, Waiting for Superman by Daughtry, while reading this fanfiction. :)**

* * *

She sighed as she watched her hero sail away. Again. All these years she spent on her island and the gods always found someone to break her heart. Again and again.

Even worse, this one had been different. She thought she won't fall for him, maybe crack her everlasting pattern of heartbreak. But it didn't work. She just fell for him harder with all their constant bickering and projects to get him home. He was different but it had been a good different. She had never been bored with him around. Boredom was something she was used to and hated.

And then the boat had come for him, to take him away from her just like all the others. She scolded herself for thinking he'd stay, that she could love him. She shouldn't have kissed him either. He never acted like he had liked her back, she was just his assistant in getting him home. He had looked so surprised when the boat came for him. And then he left. Just like all the others. Again.

But he had made a promise to come back.

She said his name over and over in her head as the boat became a speck in the distance. "If only you really could come back."

* * *

She followed her usual pattern after her hero left. She only left herself one day to grieve, one day to yell at the skys cursing Zeus. She know it wouldn't help but she always felt better after that. On that day, she drowned herself in weaving, creating more 'jeans' for her to wear. They reminded her of him. Her fire burned higher that night as she threw them in.

The days to come, she forced him out of her mind as she worked in her garden. She could still see his little workshop he had made and it almost brought tears to her eyes. She scolded herself, forcing him out of her mind again.

But her mind betrayed her as it wandered. It brought her to the city of lights that she had so much about but never seen. It lead her to her hero. And there he was laughing with her, calling her Sunshine no matter how much she hated it. She found she didn't hate it anymore. She would do anything to be called Sunshine again.

She snapped back to reality and groaned. Again were these dreams of her heroes. Ones that would never come true or happen again. She collapsed in the sand and looked up at the clouds. She felt tears come to her eyes.

"He's coming back," She comforted herself with lies. "If anyone can, it's him. He. will. make. it."

But she knew it wouldn't happen just like all the others that had promised it before. Again.

And still, despite everything, she smiled at the thought of him on his golden dragon he had told her about, riding to her rescue.

* * *

The day Hermes appeared, floating down from the sky like an angel, she was expecting him. She ran through the sand in her bare feet and attacked Hermes with questions. "Will he come back?" She asked in her mind, a question she dared not to say out loud.

Hermes looked at her sadly and explained his quest. Truly he was a hero, saving the world with Percy and some others by his side. They all sounded so brave. She wished she could do something like that but she was trapped on this accursed island. Hermes left as he saw the tears forming in her eyes.

She quickly stopped them and went back to her garden, weeding away her pain. But there was only so many weeds to weed and she found herself bored. Again. With nothing to distract her from her heroes. She looked up at the stars and named the constellations. Some of them were new, appearing as time went by on her island. A shooting star passed and she found herself wishing it was him. But it never was for any of her heroes. Again.

That night she sang as she sat on the shore with nothing to do. Her voice rang through the emptiness of the ocean as a soft melody. She sung a song of pain and love, an old greek song that no one had sung for years. Her wind spirits came out, sensing her sadness and one took her hand comfortingly. She looked over at the empty air and slowly stood. She danced to an invisible melody as the wind spirit sang with her. If she closed her eyes she could picture herself in a ballroom, her hero holding her hand, leading her in a dance. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself back on her island. Alone. Again.

She wished he was here.

"He'll come back," She told herself and part of her actually believed it.

* * *

She didn't go to bed that night, watching the stars, and hoping to see him come. Just like she had done with all the others. Again and again and again. They never came.

But she refused to believe he wouldn't, he was the most capable of them all. And still, all night the sky remained clear. All through the night she began losing hope that she didn't have much of in the first place.

"He has the supplies to come back so why hasn't he?" She asked herself in mourning.

She knew the answer. It was because of his quest. His quest to save to world. But still, everyday she hoped he'd come. Again and again.

He never did.

* * *

She kept using his quest as an excuse that he wasn't coming even though all of the others never came back as well. She hoped and hoped that he would be different. Because he was different. If anyone could, he could. He was her hero. He was her repair boy and he needed to repair her broken heart. It had been broken so many times, she wasn't sure if she could handle another.

She was stubborn. She always had been. If she believed that he would come back, she wouldn't give up. It happened all the time, each one she hoped they'd come back. But they never did. But he was not just another Again. He would come back, it was just his quest that was stopping him.

She wished her life was perfect. That he could come in on his golden dragon, sweep her off her feet and give her a kiss. Her mind replayed the one she regretted in her mind and it drove her insane. It was never a proper kiss anyway. It had been a goodbye kiss and she refused it was goodbye. She would see him again.

She smiled at the thought of him coming in to save her but deep down she knew he wouldn't. Again.

* * *

Hephaestus came a week later while she was sitting at her fountain knitting. She spotted him and quickly dropped her current project, flying towards Hephaestus for news. Instead of speaking, he joined her for a meal and together they counted the many stars in the sky.

Each one, she believed, was a lost soul. If he was gone, he'd appear up in the sky as another. There were never any extra stars in the weeks to come. It overjoyed her but left her wondering at the same time why he wasn't here by her side. She made another wish on a shooting star and joined Hephaestus for a dance on the beach.

She liked the old mechanic, he was always straightforward and unlike some other gods that bugged her. He reminded her of her hero.

As they danced, Hephaestus told her of her hero's most recent adventures. From what she heard, she wondered if he even missed her. If he ever thought of her as often as she did. He most likely didn't. Just like all the heroes before him. Again.

Before she could stop herself she collapsed in Hephaestus' arms in tears. The awkward god disappeared, not knowing what to do with a crying girl. The spirits lead her back to her cave and she felt a wave of shame.

He would come back. He would always come back. Because he was different. And she repeated it again and again.

* * *

She dreamed of her hero with the golden dragon he talked so happily about. They flew onto the island like a angel ready to save the day. He took her hand and together they flew off into the sunset, laughing about the adventures the gods had already told her about.

It was a happy dream. They were together and nothing could pull them apart. They flew through the air and nothing could stop them. And he had saved her from another heartbreak. He was her hero.

All throughout the dream they chatted and laughed, stealing kisses as tall skyscrapers passed below them. She prefered greek styled buildings but this was his world and she was happy to be in it.

She woke up with a smile on her face. She wished she could see him again.

* * *

She went outside and continued her day like any other day. She weeded her garden, pushing her hero from her mind, drowning herself in her work. She planted flowers of every size and color. She had a plain breakfast, lunch, and finally dinner.

When she was on the beach out of the corner of her eye came a speck of gold and she hopped up, thinking it was a god, here to give her news of the outside world. When it came closer, she thought she was dreaming. She had to be. All the thoughts of him coming back were just thoughts. No one came back. Again and again, she had been left with empty promises. How was he any different?

But he was different. Here he was, waving at her from the front of his golden dragon. He had come back to her. And then the ship was landed before she could register anything and her hero was unboarding and walking casually towards her as if he didn't want to run. She didn't bother looking cool. She ran right into his awaiting arms.

"Miss me, Sunshine?" He asked.

She smiled and looked up at him. Of course she had missed him. But she didn't say that.

"Nope," She replied.

"Really?" Her hero asked looking a little worried.

She captured his lips with her own. "Every second."

He grinned at her and she smiled back.

She had one of the best nights ever that day. She chatted with her hero, counted the stars with him, and danced with him until morning. As the stars started to fade they both looked up to see a shooting star cross the sky. She found she no longer had a wish to make.

"Thank you for bringing him back," She whispered to the star.

She looked over at her hero. She didn't know what he was wishing but she hoped it came true.

She took his hand causing him to look over. "Let's go to this 'New York'."

He grinned at her, leading her to Festus. "I thought you'd never ask Sunshine."

And they flew into the sunset.

Calypso never worried about agains again. Because Leo was different.


End file.
